Eubitech Blogs

VMware Horizon 8 2312: New features deliver advances in performance, security, operations, and experience

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 05:25:05 GMT

Horizon 2312 provides a mix of features designed to streamline operations, secure sessions, improve performance, and add more personalization to each session

Horizon 2312 is the latest Extended Service Branch (ESB) release, which will provide several future updates containing critical bug fixes and new OS version support over a three-year period

VMware Horizon client and agent enhancements

Horizon agent auto-upgrade to simplify maintenance
Optimized CPU performance
Enhanced images with bi nary lossless for Blast Codec .
Increased personalization with custom Microsoft Teams backgrounds.
Background blur for Linux Client
FIPS module for MacOS
Streamlined Horizon Linux deployment with easy setup tool
ARM emulation-compatible mode improvements for Windows Client
Block SendKey capability to protect VMs from malicious scripts
DEEM integration boosts to Horizon telemetry capabilities

VMware Horizon 2312 platform features

Let’s review the new platform features that continue to improving operations, securing user interactions, and expanding capabilities to meet the needs of IT administrators.

Horizon Cloud entitlement on-ramp
Intuitive GUI for forensics feature
Optimized ADAM database for improved replication performance
Customized RDSH routing for published apps and desktops
Automated instant clone maintenance with auto-disable of RDS hosts
Suspend power policy for vGPU-enabled dedicated instant clones
Customizable password reset text prompt in admin console
API modernization complete with all fully transitioned to REST
vSAN Express Storage Architecture

VMware Horizon Architecture

Horizon contains key components and integrated products that work together. The following diagram shows the logical architecture of a typical Horizon implementation.

New name for Azure Active Directory

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 09:12:34 GMT

Naming changes and exceptions

Product name

Microsoft Entra ID is the new name for Azure AD. The names Azure Active Directory, Azure AD, and AAD are replaced with Microsoft Entra ID.

Microsoft Entra is the name for the product family of identity and network access solutions.
Microsoft Entra ID is one of the products within that family.
Acronym usage isn't encouraged, but if you must replace AAD with an acronym due to space limitations, use ME-ID.

Feature names

Capabilities or services formerly known as "Azure Active Directory <feature name>" or "Azure AD <feature name>" are branded as Microsoft Entra product family features. This change is done across our portfolio to avoid naming length and complexity, and because many features work across all the products. For example:

"Azure AD Conditional Access" is now "Microsoft Entra Conditional Access"
"Azure AD single sign-on" is now "Microsoft Entra single sign-on"

When is the name change happening?

The name change across Microsoft experiences started on August 15, 2023. Display names for SKUs and service plans changed on October 1, 2023. Most naming text string changes in Microsoft experiences and partner experiences were completed at the end of 2023.

Why is the name being changed?

As part of our ongoing commitment to simplify secure access experiences for everyone, the renaming of Azure AD to Microsoft Entra ID is designed to make it easier to use and navigate the unified and expanded Microsoft Entra product family.

The Microsoft Entra ID name more accurately represents the multicloud and multiplatform functionality of the product, alleviates confusion with the on-premises identity solution (Active Directory), and creates a path to deliver a simpler way to protect every identity and secure every access point as we expand the Microsoft Entra identity and network access portfolio.

What are the display names for service plans and SKUs?

ConfigMgr 2309 New Features

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 08:48:07 GMT

The ConfigMgr 2309 release includes the following new features:

Schedule script Execution time
External service notification run details from Azure Logic application
The new Delete Aged Task Execution Status messages is now available on Primary Servers
Maintenance window creation using PS cmdlet
Update Orchestrator service for Windows 11 22H2 or later with native reboot experience
OSD preferred MP option for PXE boot scenario
Enable Bitlocker through Provision TS
Windows 11 Edition Upgrade using CM policy settings
New Windows 11 upgrade readiness dashboard
CMG creation using third-party app using console and PowerShell

Azure Active Directory single sign-on (SSO) integration with ServiceNow

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 08:38:38 GMT

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to integrate ServiceNow with Azure Active Directory (Azure AD). When you integrate ServiceNow with Azure AD, you can:

Control in Azure AD who has access to ServiceNow.
Enable your users to be automatically signed-in to ServiceNow with their Azure AD accounts.
Manage your accounts in one central location: the Azure portal.

Pre-Requisites

To get started, you need the following items:

An Azure AD subscription. If you don't have a subscription, you can get a free account.
A ServiceNow single sign-on (SSO) enabled subscription.
For ServiceNow, an instance or tenant of ServiceNow supports Calgary, Kingston, London, Madrid, New York, Orlando, Paris and San Diego versions or later.
For ServiceNow Express, an instance of ServiceNow Express, Helsinki version or later.
The ServiceNow tenant must have the Multiple Provider Single Sign On Plugin enabled.
For automatic configuration, enable the multi-provider plugin for ServiceNow.
To install the ServiceNow Agent (Mobile) application, go to the appropriate store, and search for the ServiceNow Agent application. Then download it.

Add ServiceNow from the gallery

To configure the integration of ServiceNow into Azure AD, you need to add ServiceNow from the gallery to your list of managed SaaS apps.

Sign in to the Azure portal by using either a work or school account, or by using a personal Microsoft account.
In the left pane, select the Azure Active Directory service.
Go to Enterprise Applications , and select All Applications .
To add new application, select New application .
In the Add from the gallery section, enter ServiceNow in the search box.
Select ServiceNow from results panel, and then add the app. Wait a few seconds while the app is added to your tenant.

Configure and test Azure AD SSO for ServiceNow

Configure and test Azure AD SSO with ServiceNow by using a test user called B.Simon . For SSO to work, you need to establish a link relationship between an Azure AD user and the related user in ServiceNow.

To configure and test Azure AD SSO with ServiceNow, perform the following steps:

Configure Azure AD SSO to enable your users to use this feature.
Create an Azure AD test user to test Azure AD single sign-on with B.Simon.
Assign the Azure AD test user to enable B.Simon to use Azure AD single sign-on.
Configure Azure AD SSO for ServiceNow Express to enable your users to use this feature.
Configure ServiceNow to configure the SSO settings on the application side.
Create a ServiceNow test user to have a counterpart of B.Simon in ServiceNow, linked to the Azure AD representation of the user.
Configure ServiceNow Express SSO to configure the single sign-on settings on the application side.
Test SSO to verify whether the configuration works.
Test SSO for ServiceNow Agent (Mobile) to verify whether the configuration works.

Configure Azure AD SSO

Follow these steps to enable Azure AD SSO in the Azure portal.

In the Azure portal, on the ServiceNow application integration page, find the Manage section. Select single sign-on .
On the Select a single sign-on method page, select SAML .
On the Set up single sign-on with SAML page, select the pen icon for Basic SAML Configuration to edit the settings.

4. In the Basic SAML Configuration section, perform the following steps:

a. In Sign on URL, enter one of the following URL patterns:

Sign on URL

https://<instancename>.service-now.com/navpage.dohttps://<instance-name>.service-now.com/login_with_sso.do?glide_sso_id=<sys_id of the sso configuration>

Note

Please copy the sys_id value from Configure ServiceNow section which is explained later in the tutorial.

b. In Identifier (Entity ID), enter a URL that uses the following pattern: https://<instance-name>.service-now.com

c. For Reply URL, enter one of the following URL patterns:

Reply URL

https://<instancename>.service-now.com/navpage.dohttps://<instancename>.service-now.com/consumer.do

d. In Logout URL , enter a URL that uses the following pattern: https://<instancename>.service-now.com/navpage.do

Note

If "/ " is added in the Identifier value, please remove that manually.

Note

These values aren't real. You need to update these values with the actual sign-on URL, Reply URL, Logout URL and identifier, which is explained later in the tutorial. You can also refer to the patterns shown in the Basic SAML Configuration section in the Azure portal.

5. On the Set up single sign-on with SAML page, in the SAML Signing Certificate section, find Certificate (Base64).

a. Select the copy button to copy App Federation Metadata Url, and paste it into Notepad. This URL will be used later in the tutorial.

b. Select Download to download Certificate(Base64), and then save the certificate file on your computer.

6. In the Set up ServiceNow section, copy the appropriate URLs, based on your requirement.

Create an Azure AD test user

In this section, you'll create a test user, called B.Simon, in the Azure portal.

From the left pane in the Azure portal, select Azure Active Directory > Users > All users .
Select New user at the top of the screen.
In the User properties, follow these steps:
For Name , enter B.Simon .
For User name , enter the username@companydomain.extension. For example, B.Simon@contoso.com .
Select Show password , and then write down the value that's shown in the Password box.
Select Create .

Assign the Azure AD test user

this section, you'll enable B.Simon to use Azure single sign-on by granting access to ServiceNow.

In the Azure portal, select Enterprise Applications > All applications .
In the applications list, select ServiceNow .
In the app's overview page, find the Manage section, and select Users and groups .
Select Add user . In the Add Assignment dialog box, select Users and groups .
In the Users and groups dialog box, select B.Simon from the users list, and then choose Select .
If you are expecting a role to be assigned to the users, you can select it from the Select a role dropdown. If no role has been set up for this app, you see "Default Access" role selected.
In the Add Assignment dialog box, select Assign .

Configure Azure AD SSO for ServiceNow Express

In the Azure portal , on the ServiceNow application integration page, select single sign-on .

Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 reaching end of support

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 09:00:28 GMT

Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 will end on  October 10, 2023 . After this date, these products will no longer receive security updates, non-security updates, bug fixes, technical support, or online technical content updates. If you cannot upgrade to the next version, you will need to use Extended Security Updates (ESUs) for up to three years. ESUs are available for free in Azure or need to be purchased for on-premises deployments. 

Migrate to Azure and receive up to three years of free Extended Security Updates (ESUs)

Customers can migrate applications and databases to Azure, including Azure VMware Solution, Azure Stack HCI, Virtual Machines, Dedicated Host, and receive free Extended Security Updates for three years after the end of support date. Customers can also utilize Azure Hybrid Benefit for their Windows Server and SQL Server licenses

Remain on-premises by upgrading to  Windows Server 2022 or purchasing Extended Security Updates (ESUs)

Customers needing to stay on-premises can upgrade to  Windows Server 2022 , or purchase  Extended Security Updates (ESUs) for Windows Server 2012 – providing up to three years of security updates only. ESUs will continue for three years, renewable on an annual basis, until October 13, 2026. Customers can use  Azure Arc  to automatically deploy the purchased ESUs on-premises, as well as extend Azure security and governance to their environment.

Support Dates

Release Dates

What's Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 06:56:59 GMT

What's Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) with a set of security measures and practices designed to protect cloud-based applications from various cyber threats and vulnerabilities. Defender for Cloud combines the capabilities of:

A development security operations (DevSecOps) solution that unifies security management at the code level across multicloud and multiple-pipeline environments

A cloud security posture management (CSPM) solution that surfaces actions that you can take to prevent breaches

A cloud workload protection platform (CWPP) with specific protections for servers, containers, storage, databases, and other workloads

Get better code-to-cloud protection

Strengthen your security posture, enable protection against threats, and reduce risk throughout the cloud application lifecycle across multicloud and hybrid environments

The diagram above shows the user scenarios Defender for Cloud covers: unifying DevOps security management, strengthening cloud security posture with contextual insights, and protecting cloud workloads against modern threats. The bottom of the diagram showcases the hybrid and multicloud platforms Defender for Cloud supports, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform, and on-premises workloads.

Defender for Cloud capabilities

Security posture monitoring
Regulatory compliance
Attack-path analysis
Workload protection
Vulnerability scanning
DevOps posture visibility
Infrastructure-as-code security
Code security guidance

Microsoft Defender makes it possible to monitor the security of multiple workloads running in Azure Cloud

Microsoft Defender for Servers
Microsoft Defender for Storage
Microsoft Defender for SQL
Microsoft Defender for Containers
Microsoft Defender for App Service
Microsoft Defender for Key Vault
Microsoft Defender for Resource Manager
Microsoft Defender for DNS
Microsoft Defender for open-source relational databases
Microsoft Defender for Azure Cosmos DB (Preview)agraph

Azure Landing Zone

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 09:09:30 GMT

Easier to use

One of the biggest challenges with cloud adoption is orchestrating a flawless migration process. Transitioning to the cloud is such a critical stage in cloud implementation that it determines the resulting cloud infrastructure’s efficiency, safety, and governance. You have to plan the cloud transition or migration just right to get the most out of your cloud investment and ensure that the hosted processes meet your organization’s needs.

An Azure landing zone is an environment that follows key design principles across eight design areas. These design principles accommodate all application portfolios and enable application migration, modernization, and innovation at scale. An Azure landing zone uses subscriptions to isolate and scale application resources and platform resources. Subscriptions for application resources are called application landing zones, and subscriptions for platform resources are called platform landing zones

Azure landing zone architecture

An Azure landing zone architecture is scalable and modular to meet various deployment needs. A repeatable infrastructure allows you to apply configurations and controls to every subscription consistently. Modules make it easy to deploy and modify specific Azure landing zone architecture components as your requirements evolve.

The Azure landing zone conceptual architecture (see below figure) represents an opinionated target architecture for your Azure landing zone. You should use this conceptual architecture as a starting point and tailor the architecture to meet your needs.

Design areas: The conceptual architecture illustrates the relationships between its eight design areas. These design areas are Azure billing and Azure Active Directory tenant (A), identity and access management (B), resource organization (C), network topology and connectivity (E), security (F), management (D, G, H), governance (C, D), and platform automation and DevOps (I).

Resource organization: The conceptual architecture shows a sample management group hierarchy. It organizes subscriptions (yellow boxes) by management group. The subscriptions under the "Platform" management group represent the platform landing zones. The subscriptions under the "Landing zone" management group represent the application landing zones. The conceptual architecture shows five subscriptions in detail. You can see the resources in each subscription and the policies applied.

Azure Landing Zones design areas

Building a Landing Zone involves configuring, populating, and customizing various cloud computing aspects to develop a suitable cloud deployment framework for a particular use case or requirement. Azure provides eight main design areas for creating and customizing a Landing Zone. These are also the fundamental principles for planning cloud migrations, and not just on Azure:

Enterprise enrolment: Represents the billing mechanism and the company’s relationship with Microsoft. It revolves around creating, activating, and managing Microsoft services subscriptions, licenses, and payment plans.
Identity and access management (IAM): Access control underpins security and compliance in any cloud infrastructure. IAM erects a security boundary that allows only permitted users, apps, and services to access protected corporate resources hosted on the cloud.
Resource organization: Focuses on how subscriptions, resources, and solutions are set up in order to align with specific goals. This means finding the most efficient resource combination for cloud migration.
Network topology and connectivity: The networking aspect looks at how various resources and tools communicate with each other, within and outside the cloud environment.
Business continuity and disaster recovery: Ensures you have measures in place to keep the business running in case of a disruption. For instance, you might want a continuity or recovery plan that kicks in after a data loss incident.
Governance policies: A good cloud governance model gives you visibility and control over your cloud investments, usage, and security.
Deployment options: Involves configuring the various solutions, tools, and resources for integration onto the Azure platform.
Operations baseline: Represents the minimum standards (in terms of security, control, networking, performance, application portfolio, etc.) you must achieve in order to successfully port, run, and manage workloads on Azure.

Need help deploying Landing Zones and migrating to Azure?

Moving from an on-prem IT setup to a cloud infrastructure is a delicate and technically demanding venture. But Eubitech is here to lend you a helping hand in deploying the stepping stones to cloud migration and fully implementing the Azure platform. We specialize in helping organizations adopt Microsoft solutions and integrate them into their everyday operations.

Citrix Release Classifications – LTSR vs CR

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 08:44:53 GMT

What is a Citrix Long Term Service Release?

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Long Term Service Release (LTSR) is delivered approximately every two to three years and offers an extended lifecycle, predictable maintenance, and meets high compliance standards.

The LTSR offers customers up to 5 years of mainstream support and 5 years of extended support. By electing to implement a LTSR version, customers will receive fixes known as Cumulative Updates. A Cumulative Update typically includes only fixes for the LTSR components without introducing new features and functionality that might impact the environment. Cumulative Updates are not considered version upgrades; rather, Cumulative Updates are maintenance updates to an existing product version. By opting to deploy a LTSR version of a Citrix product, customers can take comfort in knowing that they have longer cycles between version upgrades with minimal environment changes, which lowers the long term IT management costs associated with their deployments.

What is a Current Release of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops or Citrix Hypervisor?

Any new release of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops or Citrix Hypervisor will be labeled a Current Release (CR). Citrix is simply identifying the standard release process as a Current Release to help differentiate those releases from a Long Term Service Release. Typically, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops features are bundled into Current Releases up to two to four times a year. Current Release functionality is then bundled into a LTSR package on a slower cycle – typically once every few years.

What is the difference between a Current Release and a Long Term Service Release?

Citrix Long Term Service Releases (LTSR) typically come out once every two or three years and are targeted for use in industries that tend to require a long test or certification process before deploying. While this slows the pace at which you can take advantage of new features, it offers a predictable maintenance cadence for ongoing fixes in the form of Cumulative Updates.

Our Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Current Release (CR) typically have up to four releases per year and gives our on-premises customers access to new functionality and feature updates on a regular basis. CR customers can access new features quickly and adopt new releases as they see fit.

Current Releases will occur more frequently. Citrix thoroughly tests all new technology before releasing any feature to market; however, Current Releases signify new technology and fixes in one combined release. Long Term Service Releases will contain components and features that have been proven and well established.

Fixes for Current Releases will likely be released in the next Current Release; therefore, it is less likely that an individual fix would be released for a Current Release version. Therefore, customers may be asked to upgrade to the next version of a Current Release that includes the requested fix and new functionality. The cadence of Current Releases may vary throughout the product lifecycle and due to legal and financial restrictions, only general timing can be made available.

Long Term Service Releases will have a regular cadence of Cumulative
Updates that will typically contain only fixes, not new features or functionality. Customers can plan for Cumulative Updates based on a cadence of 3-9 months. Customers with Long Term Service Release environments would not be asked to upgrade to a newer version of the product, for example, customers running 1912 LTSR components will receive Cumulative Updates for 1912 LTSR – they will not be asked to upgrade to 2203 LTSR until they have reached end of support for 1912.

Below is a table comparing the different servicing options:

Windows 11 New Features

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 07:57:51 GMT

Easier to use

Explore the new Windows 11 features that help you get things done in a fast, fun and easy way.

Universal search

Select Search on your taskbar and simply start typing what you’d like to find. You’ll get personalised results from your files, photos, contacts, emails, and even the web.

Accessibility features

Navigate using voice recognition1, see what's being said with live captions, or have on-screen text read aloud by a narrator in a natural, human voice.2 Windows 11 makes it easy for everyone to use their PC.

Easy set-up and personalisation

Personalise your desktop theme, backgrounds, colours, text, and more to build the perfect creative space to explore your passions.

Easier to be Productive

Bring balance to your desktop with easy-to-use tools and Windows 11 features that help you optimise your screen space and maximise your productivity.

Snap assist

Organise what's on your screen in a snap so you can bring out your best ideas. Just drag a window to the edge of the screen to activate Snap assist and “snap” them into a clean, organised grid.3

Desktop groups

Keep your digital life organised with desktop groups for all the different ways you work and play. Custom backgrounds and labels help you build a dedicated desktop space for each area of your life.

Sync your PC & phone

Microsoft Phone Link is now available for iPhone® devices and Android™. View notifications, read messages, and dial calls from your PC13. Less back and forth between your PC and phone means more time to focus.

Easier to stay safe

Windows 11 features give you the power to create, collaborate, and keep your stuff protected.

Performance and security

From the moment you start up, Windows 11 is on guard. It works in combination with your hardware and was designed with multiple layers of protection to help keep your apps, information and privacy secure.

Device protection with SmartApp Control

Windows 11 will only run apps that have a good reputation and won’t compromise your data.

Microsoft Edge security

In addition to giving you control over your data and defending against malware, Microsoft Edge can also scan the web to check if your passwords have been compromised.

The New Teams , Avatars is available in Preview

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 04:07:17 GMT

After some time waiting, the new Microsoft Teams app is available in preview for Windows desktops and laptops. You can try it yourself by ensuring you have a preview policy assigned, then switching to preview and selecting the toggle in the top left corner; then, after the client downloads the New Teams update and restarts, you’ll see the fresh new look. After a short time to cache relevant data, you should hopefully experience the improved performance.

With the new Teams app that launches up to 2X faster and enables you to join meetings up to 2X faster, you can focus on what matters most to you. The new Teams has been optimized for more efficient use of system resources, using up to 50% less memory. It adds support for users that collaborate across organizations and manage multiple work or school accounts. You can be signed into multiple organizations and accounts simultaneously and receive notifications for all your accounts, no matter which one is currently in use. The new Teams also ensures simplified IT management and enhanced data security.

Start using the new Teams

To use the new Teams:

Open the Teams desktop app on your Windows device.
Turn on the Try the new Teams toggle at the top of Teams.

Select Get it now from the pop-out dialogue. The new Teams will start installing.

Your Teams app will reboot to open the new Teams. Any subsequent actions you take will happen in the new Teams by default, like joining a Teams meeting from Outlook.

When in the new Teams, turn on (or off) notifications by selecting Settings and more at the top of the new Teams, then selecting Settings>Notifications>Open Windows notifications settings . Find Microsoft Teams (work preview) in the apps list and set your preference.

Replace Your Face: Avatars in Microsoft Teams in Preview

Avatars for Microsoft Teams lets your users connect with presence in Teams without having to turn on their cameras. Your users can represent themselves the way they want to show by choosing the avatar that fits their specific meeting.

What is Azure AD Connect

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 11:44:24 GMT

Azure AD Connect is an on-premises Microsoft application that's designed to meet and accomplish your hybrid identity goals. If you're evaluating how to best meet your goals, you should also consider the cloud-managed solution Azure AD Connect cloud sync.

Consider moving to Azure AD Connect cloud sync

Azure AD Connect cloud sync is the future of synchronization for Microsoft. It will replace Azure AD Connect.

Azure AD Connect features

Password hash synchronization - A sign-in method that synchronizes a hash of a users on-premises AD password with Azure AD.
Pass-through authentication - A sign-in method that allows users to use the same password on-premises and in the cloud, but doesn't require the additional infrastructure of a federated environment.
Federation integration - Federation is an optional part of Azure AD Connect and can be used to configure a hybrid environment using an on-premises AD FS infrastructure. It also provides AD FS management capabilities such as certificate renewal and additional AD FS server deployments.
Synchronization - Responsible for creating users, groups, and other objects. As well as, making sure identity information for your on-premises users and groups is matching the cloud. This synchronization also includes password hashes.
Health Monitoring - Azure AD Connect Health can provide robust monitoring and provide a central location in the Azure portal to view this activity.

Why use Azure AD Connect ?

Integrating your on-premises directories with Azure AD makes your users more productive by providing a common identity for accessing both cloud and on-premises resources. Users and organizations can take advantage of:

Users can use a single identity to access on-premises applications and cloud services such as Microsoft 365.
Single tool to provide an easy deployment experience for synchronization and sign-in.

Provides the newest capabilities for your scenarios. Azure AD Connect replaces older versions of identity integration tools such as DirSync and Azure AD Sync.

Typical Deployment Scenario for Nerdio Manager

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 11:25:04 GMT

The Nerdio Manager application can be deployed in single subscription, multi-subscription, and multi-tenant scenarios.

Multi-tenant deployments are considered "advanced" deployments. Please refer to the documentation below for details. If you are considering a multi-tenant deployment, we recommend that you discuss your deployment process with the Nerdio support team. In addition, please refer to this article about advanced installation methods.

When deploying Nerdio Manager in a single or multi-subscription scenario in combination with Active Directory Domain Services (ADDS), it is a requirement that line-of-sight connectivity between the AVD desktops and the domain is possible. This connectivity facilitates domain join operations, DNS resolution, and other domain services. This requirement is also true for native AVD deployment.

The diagram below provides an overview of a typical multi-subscription deployment. Nerdio Manager orchestrates activities via API integration with the tenant and subscriptions. Direct connectivity is required to the domain and storage services (file shares). As a best practice, VNet peering between networks should be used to enable this connectivity for both single-subscription and multi-subscription deployments. Please refer to this Microsoft article about VNet peering configuration.

Connectivity to an on-premises domain infrastructure is also supported across VPN and Express Route circuits, either directly (for single-subscription scenarios) or via the use of Express Route Authorizations (for a multi-subscription scenario). As a best practice, we recommend that the domain services are configured in Azure to support the AVD infrastructure and minimize network traffic, latency, and complexity.

Components

A Nerdio Managerenvironment is comprised of the following core components:
The Nerdio Manager Azure App Service plan and Web app.
An Enterprise app registration in Azure Active Directory with associated API permissions.
An Azure SQL database.
An Azure Key vault.
One or more Storage Accounts performing the following functions:
Transient storage of scripts.
Temporary VHD storage.
Boot diagnostics for created VMs.
An Azure Automation account to facilitate the following automated activities:
Manually triggered Nerdio Manager updates from the Nerdio Manager console.
Azure Runbooks scripted actions.
One or more Log Analytics Workspaces.
Application Insights for logging of exceptions and API utilization statistics.

What Makes Nerdio Manager for Enterprise Unique?

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 11:13:38 GMT

Only AVD and Windows 365-native Enterprise-grade solution that addresses data residency, compliance, and security requirements
Lowest cost solution
Can be layered on top of existing AVD and Windows 365 deployments non-disruptively
Zero lock-in; remove Nerdio Manager without any impact on users or infrastructure
Azure Marketplace deployment and billing – no procurement process
Auto-scaling – schedule and event driven
Desktop image creation, import, and management
Frequent feature and version updates based on customer and partner feedback
Single pane of glass to manage AVD, Windows 365, physical devices and Windows applications
Unified application catalog for applications across the enterprise
Granular, custom RBAC controls

Watch This Short Demo for a Closer Look at Nerdio Manager for Enterprise in action

Overview of Windows Autopilot

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 10:48:30 GMT

Windows Autopilot is a collection of technologies used to set up and pre-configure new devices, getting them ready for productive use. Windows Autopilot can be used to deploy Windows PCs or HoloLens 2 devices. For more information about deploying HoloLens 2 with Autopilot, see Windows Autopilot for HoloLens 2.

You can also use Windows Autopilot to reset, repurpose, and recover devices. This solution enables an IT department to achieve the above with little to no infrastructure to manage, with a process that's easy and simple.

Windows Autopilot simplifies the Windows device lifecycle, for both IT and end users, from initial deployment to end of life. Using cloud-based services, Windows Autopilot:

reduces the time IT spends on deploying, managing, and retiring devices.
reduces the infrastructure required to maintain the devices.
maximizes ease of use for all types of end users.

Process overview

When initially deploying new Windows devices, Windows Autopilot uses the OEM-optimized version of Windows client. This version is preinstalled on the device, so you don't have to maintain custom images and drivers for every device model. Instead of re-imaging the device, your existing Windows installation can be transformed into a "business-ready" state that can:

Apply settings and policies
Install apps
Change the edition of Windows being used to support advanced features. For example, from Windows Pro to Windows Enterprise.

Once deployed, you can manage Windows devices with:

Microsoft Intune
Windows Update for Business
Microsoft Configuration Manager

Summary

Traditionally, IT pros spend significant time building and customizing images that will later be deployed to devices. Windows Autopilot introduces a new approach.

From the user's perspective, it only takes a few simple operations to make their device ready to use.
From the IT pro's perspective, the only interaction required from the end user is to connect to a network and to verify their credentials. Everything beyond that is automated.

Windows Autopilot enables you to:

Automatically join devices to Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) or Active Directory (via Hybrid Azure AD Join). For more information about the differences between these two join options, see Introduction to device management in Azure Active Directory.
Auto-enroll devices into MDM services, such as Microsoft Intune (Requires an Azure AD Premium subscription for configuration).
Create and auto-assign devices to configuration groups based on a device's profile.
Customize OOBE content specific to the organization.

Existing device can also be quickly prepared for a new user with Windows Autopilot Reset. The Reset capability is also useful in break/fix scenarios to quickly bring a device back to a business-ready state.

What is Nerdio Manager for Enterprise

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 07:52:04 GMT

Nerdio Manager for Enterprise complements native Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 services and empowers enterprise IT professionals to deploy, manage, and optimize AVD and Windows 365 quickly and easily

Nerdio Manager for Enterprise is a deployment, management, and auto-scaling platform for Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) and Windows 365 Cloud PC.

Tip: Nerdio Manager for Enterprise is commonly referred to as Nerdio Manager or NME.

Nerdio Manager allows IT professionals and system integrators to deploy, manage, and auto-scale large AVD and Windows 365 Cloud PC desktop environments in the Enterprise. NME can be connected to an existing environment or used to configure a new deployment.

You can operationalize large AVD and Cloud PC deployments through a powerful and intuitive UI used by engineering and help desk staff to deploy the environment and provide on-going user management. Capabilities such as desktop image management, performance monitoring, and user session control eliminate the need for complex scripting and speed up response to end-users.

Nerdio Manager reduces Azure costs with scheduled and event-driven auto-scaling and speeds deployment with a guided setup wizard reducing the engineering workload. Azure compute and storage costs can be reduced by up to 75% and deployment time from weeks to hours. Additional savings result from consolidating user management and monitoring tools and eliminating third-party apps.

And with Nerdio Manager you can reinforce existing security policies, compliance, and address data residency concerns. Nerdio Manager for Enterprise is deployed as an all-PaaS, secure Azure application inside the customer’s own subscription in a geographic location of their choice. No user data ever leaves the Azure environment and there is no third-party access to the deployment.

Who is Nerdio Manager Ideal For?

Better Management Plan
No Need for Experienced Staff
Fast & Automated Deployments

END User Benefits

Nerdio Manager for Enterprise empowers enterprise IT professionals to deploy, manage, and optimize Azure Virtual Desktop or Windows 365 quickly and easily. Nerdio addresses common blockers surrounding AVD/ Windows 365, such as getting started, cost, and ease of management. It is the only enterprise-grade virtual desktop solution that addresses data residency, compliance, and security requirements.

Manage change with Citrix License Server 11.16.6

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 07:18:54 GMT

These days, change is something we’ve all had to work to grow accustomed to. Whether it’s changing your routine, your work location, or your ways of doing things, we’ve all had to adapt to a new normal. Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops customers have embraced these changes head-on, and we’re excited to simplify their approach to license management with improvements to the license server and new tools available in Citrix Cloud.

Over the past few months, we’ve seen more admins spending a growing amount of time with Citrix licensing. Why? Ensuring that their environments are set up for success, are scalable, and are properly licensed is more pressing than ever. As organizations move to cloud, they’re in a position where they need to assess and manage licensing needs and transitions from on premises to cloud. Streamlining license server management while bringing more visibility to license usage is how we are helping Citrix users change with them.

Streamline On-prem Citrix License Server Management

The Citrix License Server has been a key component of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops solutions managed by organizations. Previously, admins had to juggle between the Licensing Administration Console (LAC) and the Citrix License Manager (CLM) to configure their on-prem Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops licenses on the license server. To streamline the admin experience, we have consolidated all the necessary functionality into the CLM. Streamlining to one console comes with a few distinct benefits:

Security: TLS 1.0 and 1.1 will be disabled by default, and Port 8082, which was previously used to host the License Administration Console, will no longer be open.
Simplification: The CLM has been leveraged by the majority of customers for the last several releases. To consolidate, we are officially deprecating the LAC with the 11.16.6 release.
Cloud Readiness: Product registration and telemetry have been enhanced to simplify license management across on-prem deployments and cloud services. Paragraph

HDX Optimization for Microsoft Teams drives remote work productivity

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 07:16:29 GMT

As organizations embrace Citrix technologies as part of their remote work initiatives, they aren’t just providing users with access to all the corporate resources they need. They’re also ensuring that their IT teams implement the necessary security and controls to support these new remote workers.

One solution that is playing a large part in enterprise remote work initiatives is Microsoft Teams. As more employees move away from working in traditional office settings — some permanently — we’re seeing more organizations embrace unified communication tools like Microsoft Teams. But I still get asked by new and existing Citrix customers, “Is it possible to deploy Microsoft Teams in a virtual environment, and will it deliver be a great experience for my users?”

Optimizing Microsoft Teams for the Ever-Growing Remote Workforce

While many leverage Microsoft Teams for their remote workforces, the need to patch and manage individual endpoints that have Microsoft Teams installed has been a challenge for admins at large enterprises.

Centralized management through virtualization addresses those challenges. Our HDX team worked in partnership with Microsoft to be the first to market to offer Microsoft Teams optimized for virtual environments. The optimization itself is a continuation of our joint initiative to deliver Skype for Business and release the Citrix HDX Realtime Optimization Pack for Skype for Business.

With the HDX optimization for Microsoft Teams, customers get a fully native, fully featured Microsoft Teams experience in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. With a single point of authentication, this improves reliability and ease of use. The Citrix Workspace app has a built-in multi-platform HDX Media Engine that ensures optimized device and media handling, with audio, video, and screen sharing offloaded to users’ devices. Not only does Citrix technology help optimize the Microsoft Teams’ native client, but it also optimizes the web version. If you haven’t already seen optimization for Microsoft Teams in action, check out this short video:

What’s New with Citrix — CVAD 2305 and Cloud Updates

Wed, 23 Aug 2023 06:21:22 GMT

It’s no secret that Citrix continues to innovate and deliver new capabilities to make your environments more flexible, increase deployment speed, and improve end user experiences. Citrix is also fully committed to meeting organizations where they are in their deployment journeys, and the Citrix Universal subscription is only our first step in this journey.

With the move toward Citrix Universal subscription, we are not only adding features to our Citrix DaaS cloud service , but we are continuing to add features and capabilities to on-premises deployments .

That’s why we are excited to announce the release of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 2305 ! This IT-managed current release delivers new end user enhancements, security capabilities, and much more that we will discuss below.

As we evolve and gain input from our customers, we are building more functionality inside of four major categories. We have broken out our feature updates into each of these groups:

Operational and IT Efficiency
Workload and Device Flexibility
Security and Compliance
Employee Experience Technology

Our approach goes beyond the traditional cloud and on-prem categorizations, providing a comprehensive overview of the capabilities offered by the Citrix platform. Let’s dive right into these developments!

Improving Operational and IT Efficiency

Save money with Autoscale for on-premises

Citrix Autoscale is now available for IT-managed Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops deployments!

This addition allows organizations to save on compute costs with optimizations and automation, while retaining a high performance user experience. This capability allows for power management of load-based and schedule-based scaling alongside cost and capacity visualizations. Additionally, Autoscale includes dynamic provisioning to create and delete machines based on admin controls.

Lastly, Autoscale allows for vertical load balancing to fill up machines before powering on new ones. It is important to note that this feature is dependent on Web Studio , which is now available for on-prem term or Citrix Universal license subscribers. Check out more about Autoscale here .

You can now create PVS catalogs from Citrix DaaS Studio Tech Preview

We have introduced a tech preview for PVS to have access to MCS features for on-premises and cloud . Organizations are now able to use MCS provisioning to create VMs for PVS. PVS can now support enterprise MCS features like identity management, on-demand cache disk, and many more. Additionally, admins now can manage PVS provisioning from Studio with unified UI and workflow to streamline tasks.

Simplifying provisioning with MCS enhancements

Citrix is bringing machine creation services (MCS) updates to on-prem hypervisors . Let’s take a closer look at the new features:

Descriptions for image updates : Manage machine catalogs more efficiently through PowerShell, add and retrieve notes for image descriptions, and maintain image update records and simplify audit processes.
Support for MAK activation : Provision machine catalogs with VMs activated through Multiple Activation Key, provision both persistent and non-persistent catalogs, utilize Multiple Activation Key (MAK) for VM activation, and preserve activation counts during Windows activation.
Additional Security identifiers : Easily identify machines with unique identifiers, streamline virtual machine creation process, gain better control over virtual machine configurations.

Introducing VDA Upgrade service

The VDA Upgrade service for cloud-based Citrix workloads is a new capability built to accelerate and simplify VDA lifecycle maintenance .

Admins are now able to quickly push VDA upgrades to persistent machines via Web Studio or PowerShell. They can choose how to upgrade VDAs by selecting individual machines, in batches of up to 50, or entire machine catalogs. Additionally admins are able to schedule upgrades to happen automatically when no active sessions are present. This is a huge time saver, eliminating the manual process of automating VDA upgrades without the need for SCCM or custom scripts.

Implementing Session Launch Diagnostics in Citrix DaaS Monitor Tech Preview

This new tech preview allows admins to understand why and where a session failed for any user. The user who receives the error is given a unique transaction ID and is then able to share it with an admin. Upon searching for this ID in Citrix DaaS Monitor, the admin is shown a complete history of the failed session including which component had failures or warnings with the error-code. The admin can then click to learn more about the error including reasons and remediation steps as prescribed by Citrix product teams. This is a great new feature that allows admins to easily troubleshoot user sessions and give end users a better overall experience .

Reduce costs with VDI Reclamation service Tech Preview

Leveraging unused virtual resources is a huge capability for organizations working to reduce cloud spend . With the tech preview of our VDI reclamation service, Admins are able to auto-tag unused resources to be reclaimed and given to users who need them, instead of those resources sitting idle. Previously, admins created custom scripts to identify and reclaim unused VDIs, now with automated tagging, the need for custom scripts is eliminated as the feature easily identifies inactive machines. Check out more information and configuration guidelines on our Citrix VDI Reclamation service blog .

Delivering Workload and Device Flexibility

New enhancements with Google Cloud

Citrix Cloud now supports using Google Cloud Identity as an identity provider to authenticate subscribers signing in to their workspaces. By using Google Identity with Citrix Cloud, you can provide a unified sign-in experience for accessing Citrix Workspace and Google resources. This currently only supports end-users and support for administrators is coming soon. More information can be found here .

Citrix is also excited to announce that we have a new offering on the Google Cloud Marketplace . We are now offering a Citrix-prepared Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA) Image . It is a pre-built Rocky Linux multi-session desktop image with the latest Citrix VDA installed and ready to use with Citrix DaaS. More information can be found here . This is a great option for organizations using Citrix and Google as you are able to leverage Google Cloud Commit funds to purchase Citrix DaaS licenses .

Lastly, Citrix has new capabilities designed to save time for administrators who use Machine Creation Services (MCS) on Google Cloud . You can now select a Google Cloud instance template as an input for the machine profile. Instance templates are lightweight resources in Google Cloud, therefore are very cost effective. More information can be found here .

Provisioning and Performance enhancements with AWS

As we grow our partnership with AWS, we are continuing to deliver provisioning and performance improvements to ease the admin burden. Over the past few months, we have been rolling out a number of enhancements with Citrix and Amazon Machine Images (AMI). We have added a filter capability for AMI inventories and have accelerated AMI resource loading to speed admin processes. We are also enabling Citrix Studio to display useful property information and applicable choices to admin to avoid failures with Machine profile. For more information on implementing Citrix workloads with AWS , take a look at our product documentation .

Cost Savings and Flexibility on Azure

We are continuously adding more capabilities to Citrix on Azure . This quarter, we added greater flexibility to Citrix and Azure deployments when applying custom properties to existing MCS provisioned machines. We also added the ability for deployments to automatically switch to a lower tier storage type at shutdown to save costs. We have also made it simple to convert to the new machine profile catalogs to ease feature adoption and expand available properties. For all the information on implementing Citrix with Azure , check out our product documentation .

Citrix Support for Nutanix Cloud Clusters on Azure

We are officially supporting Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) on Azure for Citrix DaaS and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops . The new Citrix plugin for NC2 is designed to ensure seamless migration of Citrix workloads from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud. By leveraging Nutanix’s native protection and replication capabilities, admins can also scale their operations effortlessly, save on cloud infrastructure costs, and maintain consistent management procedures. NC2 is available via the Azure marketplace, streamlining operations across multiple clouds without added complexity . Take a look at our latest blog post for more information.

Expanding choice with Linux VDA

The Linux VDA continues to be a great option for developers and test environments, alike. We are continuing to add new capabilities to the Linux VDA, and these past few months have been no different. We added support for FIDO2 authentication in tech preview to deliver more authentication options to admins, We also introduced H.264 lossless compression support for HDX 3D Pro to make the user experience even cleaner. Lastly, we have also added Session Recording to Linux VDA in tech preview to enhance security and ease troubleshooting.

Eubitech Blogs

VMware Horizon 8 2312: New features deliver advances in performance, security, operations, and experience

Horizon 2312 provides a mix of features designed to streamline operations, secure sessions, improve performance, and add more personalization to each session

VMware Horizon client and agent enhancements

VMware Horizon 2312 platform features

VMware Horizon Architecture

Horizon contains key components and integrated products that work together. The following diagram shows the logical architecture of a typical Horizon implementation.

New name for Azure Active Directory

Naming changes and exceptions

Product name

Feature names

When is the name change happening?

Why is the name being changed?

What are the display names for service plans and SKUs?

ConfigMgr 2309 New Features

The ConfigMgr 2309 release includes the following new features:

Azure Active Directory single sign-on (SSO) integration with ServiceNow

Pre-Requisites

Add ServiceNow from the gallery

Configure and test Azure AD SSO for ServiceNow

Configure Azure AD SSO

Create an Azure AD test user

Assign the Azure AD test user

Configure Azure AD SSO for ServiceNow Express

Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 reaching end of support

Migrate to Azure and receive up to three years of free Extended Security Updates (ESUs)

Remain on-premises by upgrading to Windows Server 2022 or purchasing Extended Security Updates (ESUs)

Support Dates

Release Dates

What's Microsoft Defender for Cloud

What's Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Get better code-to-cloud protection

Defender for Cloud capabilities

Azure Landing Zone

Easier to use

Azure landing zone architecture

Azure Landing Zones design areas

Need help deploying Landing Zones and migrating to Azure?

Citrix Release Classifications – LTSR vs CR

What is a Citrix Long Term Service Release?

What is a Current Release of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops or Citrix Hypervisor?

What is the difference between a Current Release and a Long Term Service Release?

Windows 11 New Features

Easier to use

Easier to be Productive

Easier to stay safe ﻿

The New Teams , Avatars is available in Preview

Start using the new Teams

Replace Your Face: Avatars in Microsoft Teams in Preview

What is Azure AD Connect

Consider moving to Azure AD Connect cloud sync

Azure AD Connect features

Why use Azure AD Connect ?

Typical Deployment Scenario for Nerdio Manager

Components

What Makes Nerdio Manager for Enterprise Unique?

Watch This Short Demo for a Closer Look at Nerdio Manager for Enterprise in action

Overview of Windows Autopilot

Process overview

Summary

What is Nerdio Manager for Enterprise

Who is Nerdio Manager Ideal For?

END User Benefits

Manage change with Citrix License Server 11.16.6

Streamline On-prem Citrix License Server Management

HDX Optimization for Microsoft Teams drives remote work productivity

Optimizing Microsoft Teams for the Ever-Growing Remote Workforce

What’s New with Citrix — CVAD 2305 and Cloud Updates

Improving Operational and IT Efficiency

Delivering Workload and Device Flexibility

New enhancements with Google Cloud

Remain on-premises by upgrading to  Windows Server 2022 or purchasing Extended Security Updates (ESUs)

Easier to stay safe